In this article I am going to discuss what absolutely NOT to do on your resume – that is if you want to get an interview.·
Be Gone Objective Statements Be Gone.
If you look on the internet today, you will notice that there is a lot of information on “how to make the perfect resume” etc, although the information is definitely useful, it is also often dated. I bet you have come across numerous sample resumes that have an “Objective Statement”, a statement describing what you want from the employer. Let me tell you one thing, Rocko – the employer doesn’t care if your objective is to work in their Accounting or Marketing department…they already know that. What they do care about, is if you have the skill set to perform the job. So rip that useless “Objective Statement” our from your resume and focus on displaying your outstanding skills ;). ·
Resume Length Greater than 2 Pages:
We all know that you are an awesome, amazing, the best, the bestest? Individual and you can probably write an entire book about yourself – you self loving bast*rd. But, please if you can limit all that awesomeness to two pages it will ensure that your resume will get read. Some employers specifically ask for 1 page – if that is what they want, than that is what you should give them.
Spelling Mistakes:
You have worked for a large investment banking firm with over 300 million dollars in revenue but if you have spelling or grammar mistakes on your resume, you’re not going to get the job. An HR manager has to look through a lot of resumes, which get narrowed down – eventually there comes a point where there are several candidates who are equally as strong – what happens then? The HR Manager looks at the small things like spelling and grammar to make a decision. Spelling/ Grammar check – Do It.
Work/ Volunteer Experiences Stating Only What you Did and Not What You Learned:
Employers understand that while you were working at McDonalds, you flipped burgers and ate fries..I mean made fries ;). You don’t need to repeat that on your resume, instead you should focus on what transferrable skills you learned that you can bring to the employer. This can including the communication and interpersonal skills you developed by speaking with customers.
Create & Spam
Developing your resume can be tough work, but the rewards are certainly worth it. One on of the mistakes that I come across fairly regularly is individuals creating a resume and spamming every job post they see. This is a bad strategy because the employer can tell that you did not look at their job post carefully and see what skills they are specifically looking for. You will have better results if you apply to 10 employers by creating personalized resumes than 100 non-personalized resumes.
Steer clear of these mistakes and you will be in a much better position. Good luck on your job search.
